Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 104: Returning to the Righteousness
"Dang...dang...dang..."

In August, when the sounds of bells and drums echoed outside the Xuanzheng Hall in Chang'an, Zhang Yitan, who had already changed into the robes of a fifth-rank official, looked up at the hall at the foot of the steps with mixed feelings.

He rushed all the way from Lingzhou to Chang'an, saw too many things on the way, and understood why Wuzhen had no expectations for the Tang Dynasty.

Famine, war, corruption...

Those experiences kept flashing through Zhang Yitan's mind, causing his originally firm beliefs to gradually disintegrate.

But Hexi cannot do without the Tang Dynasty, and he must seek reinforcements for Hexi.

"Announce, Shazhou Chief Clerk Zhang Yitan enter the palace!"

When the eunuch's voice came from the high platform, Zhang Yitan calmed himself down, walked up the steps step by step, and came to the door of Xuanzheng Hall.

As he walked into the hall, all the civil and military officials in the court cast their eyes towards him.

Facing the gazes of the ministers, Zhang Yitan walked down to the stage step by step, holding Zhang Yichao's handwriting in both hands.

"I, Zhang Yitan, the Chief of Shazhou, am here to present my victory message to the court on the orders of Zhang Yichao, the governor of Shazhou... May you be blessed with a long life!"

"Please stand up and take a seat..."

"Thank you!"

On the high platform, Li Chen's voice came slowly, and Zhang Yitan slowly stood up. He waited for the eunuch to place a crescent chair between his legs before he sat down with peace of mind.

The eunuch took the handwritten letter from Zhang Yichao from his hand, walked up to the platform and handed it to Li Chen.

Li Chen opened the letter and read it quickly. The joy on his face could no longer be hidden.

"Zhang Changshi, you will tell everyone in the palace about the victory!"

"I accept my order..."

Li Chen intended to make the content of the victory report more grand, and Zhang Yitan naturally cooperated.

He bowed with both hands and said in a loud voice: "In April of the fourth year of Dazhong, the governor of Shazhou proposed to send troops to conquer the five states of Gua, Yi, Xi, Gan, and Su."

"In September, Shanzhou Shang Bibi surrendered, and Yichao led his troops eastward. Ganzhou Governor Zhang Huaishen led his troops to attack Lun Kongre and seized maps and books of the five states of Lan, Shan, He, Min, and Kuo."

"These ten states and Shazhou, a total of eleven states, have all been escorted to Chang'an by me. They are now outside the Xuanzheng Hall!"

His voice was not loud, but it was deafening to the ministers.

If what Zhang Yitan said was true, then most of Hexi had been recovered, with only a small part of Longxi and Longnan left.

For a moment, all the ministers straightened their backs unconsciously, and Li Chen glanced at them with satisfaction.

"Governor Zhang has recovered the eleven states of Hehuang, which is truly a blessing for our Tang Dynasty!"

"From now on, the Hehuang area will all be in the hands of our Tang Dynasty. The foreign bandits in Longxi and other places are just minor troubles. There is no need to be afraid of them!"

Although Li Chen said this, he did not mention the issue of rewards in his words.

Zhang Yitan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, although we have recovered eleven states, the important cities of Liangzhou and Weizhou have not yet been recovered. Please grant the Hexi Jiedushi a banner and send troops to help Hexi!"

"..." Listening to Zhang Yitan's words, Li Chen frowned slightly, and Linghu Tao, Pei Xiu and others in the hall all felt nervous.

Fortunately, Li Chen did not lose his temper. His slightly wrinkled brows soon relaxed and he pretended to be magnanimous:

"Haha... Mr. Zhang, don't worry."

"The matter of sending troops to Hexi needs to be discussed between me and my ministers. It cannot be decided in just a few words."

"You should retreat and rest first. I will summon you again soon."

Zhang Yitan didn't know he had violated a taboo, he just kowtowed happily and said, "I'm leaving now!"

He stood up and walked out of the hall, with a smile on his face until Zhang Yitan left the Xuanzheng Hall, when he put away his smile.

"Everyone, what do you think of what Zhang Changshi said just now?"

As soon as he said this, all the ministers looked at each other, and no one stood up.

Seeing this, Lu Shang took the initiative to step forward and said, "Your Majesty, although the Hexi Yili Brigade's contribution to recovering the eleven states is commendable, it is still unknown whether they are loyal."

Seeing Lu Shang stand up, the other ministers in the hall also stood up one after another to express their attitudes.

"Your Majesty, the court has not appointed a Hexi Jiedushi since the Qianyuan period. If it is re-appointed now, I am afraid there will be chaos in the future."

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal..."

"Your Majesty, Zhang Yichao and others are not loyal enough. It would be inappropriate to hastily appoint them as the governor of Hexi..."

Seeing that the emperor had no objection, the ministers expressed their opposition one after another.

Li Chen felt much more comfortable about this.

Although Zhang Yichao recovered the land of eleven states, the strength of the Hexi Volunteer Brigade led by Zhang Yichao should not be underestimated.

Although the Longxi area still separated Zhang Yichao from the imperial court, with Zhang Yichao's speed of recovering eleven states in less than three years, he might be able to recover Liangzhou and Longxi one day.

By then, they would only be separated from the imperial court by the Long Mountain, so how could Li Chen feel at ease?

Now that Zhang Yichao's idea of obtaining the post of Jiedushi of Hexi was blocked by the ministers, Li Chen was naturally satisfied.

However, for Li Chen, who always claimed to be "Emperor Taizong", doing nothing seemed a bit heartless and ungrateful.

Therefore, after Zhang Yichao's request for the post of Hexi Jiedushi was rejected by his ministers, he said with embarrassment: "But if a meritorious minister is not rewarded at all, won't it chill the hearts of the soldiers?"

As soon as Li Chen finished speaking, Prime Minister Linghu Tao, who had not taken any action, stood up.

"Your Majesty, I think that although the governor of Hexi cannot be appointed, we can use the former Shazhou Doulu Army as a base to reorganize the Guiyi Army and appoint Zhang Yichao as the governor of the Guiyi Army and the governor of the eleven states."

"This way, we will not only not let Zhang Yichao down, but also teach him the righteousness of Hexi. I'm sure Zhang Yichao will be grateful to tears!"

"In addition, in order to facilitate contact with Hexi, Zhang Yitan, the chief officer of Shazhou, should be retained in Beijing as an official."

"I think that Zhang Yitan can be appointed as the third-rank official of the Left Imperial Guards and appointed as the governor of Shazhou."

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal..."

As Linghu Tao spoke, many officials who were watching also expressed their approval.

Linghu Tao's words not only rejected Zhang Yichao's idea of serving as the governor of Hexi, but also left Zhang Yitan as a hostage.

In this way, even if Zhang Yitan wanted to emulate the towns of Heshuo, Lianghuai and others to cause chaos in the future, they would have to consider Zhang Yitan’s safety.

After all, Zhang Yitan's legitimate son was the number one general under Zhang Yichao, controlling more than 60% of the troops in Hexi.

As long as Zhang Yitan is in hand, even if Zhang Yichao wants to cause trouble, it depends on whether Zhang Huaishen agrees.

For a moment, Li Chen looked at Linghu Tao with more appreciation.

"In that case, then we will do as you said, and have the Ministry of Personnel negotiate with Zhang Changshi to grant court positions to the meritorious officials in Hexi, and send someone to issue an imperial edict."

Li Chen decided on Zhang Yichao's reward, and then thought of the news that the eleven states in Hexi had been recovered. He couldn't help but said:
"I have listened to what Changshi Zhang said just now."

"Right now, only Longnan, Longxi and Liangzhou in the Helong area are still in turmoil. In your opinion, should the court send troops to retake them?"

After all, recovering Helong was an achievement that would bring him great success, so Li Chen naturally did not want to miss it.

However, it was difficult for his ministers to dampen his enthusiasm.

"Your Majesty, the new policies on grain transport and salt tax are still being implemented, and the troops in Guanzhong have just finished the battle to pacify the Tanguts. The treasury is empty and the troops are exhausted."

"I think it is not appropriate to use military force against Helong for the time being."

"Your Majesty, we second the motion!!"

Faced with the disappointment of his ministers, Li Chen felt a little uncomfortable, but he also listened to their advice. Knowing that the matter was not feasible, he stopped forcing it.

Seeing that Li Chen did not continue to ask questions, Linghu Tao also stepped forward to change the subject, directing the topic to the victims in Lianghuai, Shannan, Jiannan and other regions.

As for Zhang Yitan, who was waiting outside the palace, he was taken away by officials from the Menxia Province soon after. After asking about anyone who had made contributions among the Hexi Righteous Brigade, they told Zhang Yitan about the court's arrangements.

"Zhang Changshi, from now on, you are the left imperial attendant, which is a third-rank official position."

Inside the government office of Menxia Province, as the vice minister of Menxia Province announced with a smile the imperial court's reward to the Hexi Volunteer Brigade, Zhang Yitan then understood the imperial court's attitude.

Although he had already made preparations to stay hostage in Chang'an, he did not expect that the situation in Helong had become so clear, but the court was not yet prepared to send troops to recapture it.

What was even more unexpected to him was that they had clearly already controlled most of the territory of Hexi except Liangzhou, but the imperial court had not yet granted his younger brother the title of Hexi Jiedushi.

Although the positions of Jiedushi of Guiyi Army and Surveillance Commissioner of Eleven States were not low, without the position of Jiedushi of Hexi, Hexi would inevitably experience turmoil.

Even though Zhang Yitan was confident that his brother could handle it, he still couldn't help feeling disappointed.

"We are all like this, but the court still doesn't trust us?"

He remembered what Wuzhen had said to him and felt a sharp pain in his chest.

This pain was worse than when he was hit by several arrows when he recaptured Shazhou.

"Attendant Zhang?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel carefully woke him up, and Zhang Yitan could only force a smile and said, "God's grace is great. I was in a trance for a moment and made Minister Wang worried."

"Haha, that's normal. I can understand it." Minister Wang nodded with a smile, and then asked Zhang Yitan about the meritorious services of civil and military officials in Hexi.

Zhang Yitan knew this very well.

The court did not ask for the purpose of enthroning these officials, but wanted to understand the weight of each person in Hexi.

But even so, he did not lie and explained everything clearly.

He explained everything from Zhang Yichao to himself, and then to Zhang Huaishen, Li En, Suo Zhongyi and others.

When the topic came to Liu Jilong, he also spoke frankly:
"Shandan Zuo Guoyi Duwei Liu Jilong also served as Shandan's chief clerk, commanding 1,200 soldiers from Shandan Shangfu. He participated in the battles of Jiuquan and Zhangye's recovery, and led his troops to repel 5,000 elite cavalry led by Shang Yanxin, a general under Lun Kongre, and..."

He explained a lot, and even the Minister Wang who was in charge of recording it was surprised after hearing it: "This person is only seventeen years old?"

"He should be eighteen now." Zhang Yitan nodded to correct him. Upon hearing this, Minister Wang asked:
"I wonder what kind of background Liu Jilong has, and which state or county is he from?"

Zhang Yitan didn't think there was anything wrong with Liu Jilong's identity, so he said frankly: "This man was born a commoner, and was a herdsman in Guazhou before joining the army."

"Mu Nu?" Upon hearing this, Minister Wang immediately lost interest in Liu Jilong. After making a hasty note of it, he moved on to the next person.

A few days later, after being reviewed by Linghu Tao and his men, many imperial edicts were escorted back to Hexi by the more than a hundred elite cavalry brought by Zhang Yitan, leaving only a dozen people to protect Zhang Yitan's safety.

At the same time, Li Wei, under the protection of Li Yizhong, led his army to Baitinghai in the north of Liangzhou.

"Sorry..."

"Everyone, get out of the way. This is General Dugazhi's distinguished guest!"

In August, by the Baiting Sea, the autumn breeze brings a refreshing coolness and the grassland appears yellow.

Thousands of tents of all sizes are scattered across the landscape, swaying gently in the wind, like gray-brown mushrooms on the ground.

The people walked lightly among the crowds, wearing thin clothes and walking briskly, seemingly unfazed by the slightly cool weather.

Between the tents, the simple figures of the herdsmen contrast sharply with the gorgeous furs of the chiefs.

The chiefs' clothing is made of fine fabrics with totems of various wild animals sewn on them, making them look majestic while retaining the ruggedness of the grassland.

They stand tall and straight, walk with a breeze, and exude a majesty that cannot be underestimated.

Li Wei followed behind a captain, and beside him were Li Yizhong and more than a dozen elite Shandan cavalrymen.

They dismounted their horses and walked towards the tent on foot.

Outside the camp of the Umu people, the elite cavalry led by Jiu Juyan were watching with eager eyes. Once Li Wei and others were in danger, he would take action immediately.

Passing through one tent after another, the chief stopped and a not-so-large tent made of animal skins appeared in front of us.

The curtain of the tent was opened, and Li Wei and others could clearly see what was going on inside.

Inside the tent, more than a dozen chiefs were looking at them, and sitting in the main seat was a man in his forties or fifties with gray hair and beard.

"please!"

The chief motioned the two men to go in, then turned around and stopped more than a dozen Shandan elite cavalry.

"You guys wait outside."

After Li Wei gave some instructions, he and Li Yizhong walked into the tent and were watched by more than ten chiefs.

Tibetan is the common language in Hexi, so there is no need to worry about language barriers.

"You are Tang people from Hexi, why are you looking for me?"

The Umu leader who was in his forties or fifties was Dugazhi, the commander of the Umu people in Baitinghai. He gathered people and became bandits in Baitinghai ten years ago, and up to now, he has led nearly ten thousand Umu tents.

Seeing him like this, Li Wei said straight to the point: "I came here to help the Khan!"

"Help me? Hahaha..." Dugazhi couldn't help laughing, and the other little heads also laughed out loud.

Li Wei was unmoved by this. He just stood there quietly, waiting for Dugazhi to speak to him.

Du Gazhi originally wanted to let Li Wei speak out himself, but after the two of them had a cup of tea, Du Gazhi couldn't help but ask, "Tell me, why do I need your help?"

After the words fell, everyone looked at Li Wei, and Li Wei said slowly:
"The Khan and you don't know yet, the generals of Lunkongre in Helong fled due to famine, and many tribes chose to seek refuge in the mountains, and Liangzhou was one of the places they went."

"Since May, tens of thousands of Tibetans, both large and small, have come to Liangzhou, including nearly a thousand armed soldiers."

"Although our army invaded Liangzhou twice, we only killed and wounded several thousand bandits and beheaded General Ben Mangluo of Jialindong."

"Now Liangzhou has received help from Helong, and our army still has Yanzhi Mountain to rely on. What can your army rely on?"

"It's almost autumn. I believe the Khan must have sent scouts to the south to investigate the grazing conditions of the tribes in the five cities of Liangzhou."

"But now Liangzhou is under strict defense. Even the Khan probably wouldn't dare to say that he can safely plunder enough herds during the autumn harvest this year, right?"

"Without the herd, how will you and your people survive this long winter?"

As soon as Li Wei finished speaking, the faces of the leaders in the tent all looked unhappy.

Obviously, the information Li Wei brought to them was beyond their expectations.

They sent out scouts half a month ago, but the news they brought back left them at a loss.

Shang Moling and his men issued a ban, allowing each tribe to graze only within a range of fifty miles north of Guzang, and sent out scouts a hundred miles away.

In this way, it will be unlikely for them to easily plunder Liangzhou this year.

There were no herds to plunder, and the herds they had were not enough to see them all through the winter.

Because of this, the leaders all turned their eyes to Dugazhi, but Dugazhi smiled and said as soon as he felt the gazes:

"You're right, but I want to know, how are you going to help us?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wei said, "In half a month, we need you to go to Changsong to invade. The louder the better."

"At that time, our army will march out of Yanzhi Mountain and besiege Fanhe. When Shang Moling sees this, he will definitely choose to rescue Fanhe first."

"Compared with your army, your army only wants the herds of cattle, while our army wants the city. Shang Moling can naturally tell which is more important."

"Just plunder the herds in the north and south of Changsong. We will take care of the soldiers in the four cities of Jialin, Fanhe, Guzang and Shenniao."

As for Emu's strength, Li Wei had roughly understood a lot during the journey just now.

Most of them were light soldiers wearing leather coats and carrying scimitars and bone clubs. Although the tribe had tens of thousands of tents, it probably had less than a thousand armored soldiers.

In this situation, it would be enough to let them go to Changsong to cause trouble. They would not do anything more.

Anyway, Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilian just need to attract Changsong's attention. The rest of the troops, with the strength of Ganzhou, will not suffer any big loss even if they are defeated.

Thinking of this, Li Wei waited for Dugazhi's answer.

Dugazhi thought about this for a while, and then said: "What benefit will we get if you take Fanhe City?"

"..." Li Wei frowned when he heard this. After all, what he just said was a win-win situation.

The Ganzhou troops captured Fanhe, and the Emu tribe was able to plunder the Changsong herd, without harming the interests of either party at all.

But now it seems that Dugazhi's greed is beyond his imagination, and he even wants to take a bite of his own flesh.

"I have brought seven hundred kilograms of iron materials, which I can give to the Khan as a gift."

Li Wei said in a deep voice, and Dugazhique opened his mouth loudly: "In addition to these 700 kilograms of iron, I also want 300 sets of armor!"

"Khan, your request is too high."

Li Yizhong, who was standing aside, couldn't bear to watch it. You know, with the productivity of the five states in Hexi, they could only produce fourteen to five hundred sets of armor every year.

Dugazhi opened his mouth and asked for three hundred sets, which was obviously beyond what Ganzhou could afford.

"We don't have that much spare armor for you."

Li Wei took the opportunity to speak, but added: "But we can send you an additional 5,000 kilograms of iron."

With five thousand kilograms of iron, using the poor metallurgical methods, at most one can make one hundred sets of armor. It is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the quality is also not as good as that of Hexi.

Dugazhi wanted to raise the price further, but seeing Li Wei's unmoved face, he finally smiled and said, "Okay! I will send troops to Changsong in half a month!"

Li Wei heaved a sigh of relief and raised his hand to bow: "In this case, I will return to Ganzhou first and inform the governor of this matter."

"Seven hundred kilograms of iron is outside the camp. Please send someone to receive it."

"As for the remaining 5,000 kilograms of iron, we will redeem it after we capture Changsong."

"Goodbye, my envoy." Dugazhi had no intention of getting up to see him off, so Li Wei took Li Yizhong and left.

After they left, the leaders all started talking at once: "Great Khan, when are we going to send out the troops?"

"Great Khan, this is only five thousand kilograms of iron, not enough for us to share!"

"Sweaty..."

As they talked at once, Dugazhi sneered:

"What we are talking about now is one thing, but when they start fighting with the foreign dogs, that will be another matter!"

(End of this chapter)